Coca-Cola (KO - Get Report) has long been a favorite of legendary investor and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A - Get Report) chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, an affinity that's rewarded him and his shareholders handsomely over the years. But with consumer preferences around the world shifting to all-natural food ingredients at fast-food joints and grabbing "better-for-you" snacks at grocery stores, the "Oracle of Omaha's" unmatched investment judgment seems to be getting cloudy when it comes to his beloved Coke.
Admittedly, knocking Buffett's judgment on Coke is tough. According to Berkshire's 2014 annual letter, the cost basis for its Coke holdings, which the company began accumulating in 1988, is $1.29 billion. The market value for that stake at the time the report was issued in February was a whopping $16.9 billion. The industrial and insurance conglomerate now owns roughly 9.3% of Coke as the soft drink maker has recently plowed billions of dollars to share repurchases.Buffett should consider channeling that old-school foresight he applied years earlier to Coca-Cola and think about what several changes occurring in the world today may mean for Coke 10, 20, 30 years in the future.